Interlude
by Languish-Dreams
Summary: A series of short, sometimes random stories about everyday life with Yuki and Shuichi. Short, long and everything in between.
1. Where I Sleep

A/N: Here we go. :) These are the interludes that used to follow the end of chapters in One Bad Week. I moved them to their own story because I can always think of a little something to write about, instead of an entire story, so I have more ideas than I do chapters left of OBW. This is the interlude meant for Chapter 19. I'll start adding in previous chapter's interludes later, along with some new ones until I run out of ideas, I suppose. You'll see why I ended up doing this. Sometimes these ideas take on a life of their own. ^_^ Enjoy!

Edit 06/03/09 for spelling errors.

**Interludes**

_Track One: Where I Sleep_

"Holy shit!"

Shuichi huddled on the end of the couch, eyes wide, staring at the figure that had just entered the living room.

"Har har." Yuki said, his voice cracking slightly.

The singer watched his lover slowly trudge to the couch and flop down with a graceless thud.

"You look like crap." Shuichi finally declared.

The author sighed. "Whatever. What time is it?"

"About 3:00 am."

"That wasn't so bad." Yuki mused. "I told you it would only take a few hours to finish."

Shuichi smirked. "Saturday morning."

Yuki froze, the unlit cigarette dangled from his bottom lip for a moment before dropping to the floor. "Saturday morning?"

The younger man nodded. "But I did like you told me to, Yuki. I left you alone the entire time."

The novelist didn't say anything, at first, still taking in the fact that he had spent the past 3 days holed up in his study writing. It had been a long time since he managed a marathon like that. Judging the way his body protested every move he made, he figured that was a good thing.

"Here."

Yuki looked up to see Shuichi holding out a plate of food and a beer towards him. Taking both, the blond then realized just how hungry he was.

The younger man huddled back under his blanket at the end of the couch, watching from the corner of his eye as Yuki cleared his plate in record time. Once his lover had finished, Shuichi silently stood up, took the plate and headed for the kitchen.

"You're awfully calm." Yuki stated. "What's wrong?"

Shuichi looked up from the sink with a small smile. "It IS 3:00 am, Yuki. I'm a little tired."

It was then that the blond actually looked at his boyfriend closely. The singer's hair was a mess of tangles, his eyes were dull with small circles lined under each and his body moved in slow, stiff actions. This was not a man who was just 'a little tired'.

A low and sudden cough filled the kitchen then, breaking Yuki out of his thoughts.

"You're not just tired." the novelist said, his eyes narrowing. "You're sick."

"It's just a cold." the singer replied quickly. "Come on. You need some sleep, Yuki."

Yuki huffed slightly, but followed Shuichi as he headed into the bedroom. Walking inside, Yuki noted that the room appeared just as it had when his marathon had begun. Flipping back the covers, there was no sign that anyone had been in here at all the past few days. Shuichi just wasn't that good at cleaning.

"Have you been sleeping on the couch again?"

The singer didn't answer, but the slight pause in his activities was answer enough.

Yuki opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by the younger man.

"It doesn't matter, Yuki. You're going to get into bed and fall asleep. You'll sleep like the dead until Monday and by the time you wake up, I'll already be at work. You'll send your book to your editor and a few weeks from now, you'll be back in your study, growling every time I come in the room because you just want to write. So what does it matter where I sleep while you're spending all your time working?"

"You're sick." the novelist stated flatly.

"So?"

Yuki sighed. He really wasn't in the mood for this. Stamping his cigarette out in the ashtray, he knew there was only one thing he could do. Shuichi turned and walked towards him, a pair of Yuki's pajamas in his hand. As soon as he got close enough, Yuki grabbed the singer and picked him up, slinging him over his shoulder.

"Yuki! What the hell are you doing?!" the singer shouted, his voice cracking with the effort.

The blond didn't answer, merely strolled to the bed and deposited the singer on one side. Taking off his shirt and belt and turning off the light, Yuki climbed in next to the younger man and pulled him until Shuichi's head was laying on his chest.

"Shut up and go to sleep."

The room remained silent for a time, the slight wheeze every time Shuichi breathed now evident in the quiet bedroom. Yuki frowned. His body was exhausted, but his mind hadn't quite caught up to that point yet.

"This is your bed, you know."

Shuichi lifted his head up, barely making out an outline of his lover in the dark room.

"Yuki?"

"I don't want you sleeping on that couch when you're sick, got it?"

The singer sat up a bit more, worry etched across his face. "Yuki, what's wrong? You never cared where I slept before."

"Well I care now!" the blond bite out harshly, startling them both. "I'm not him."

The second statement was so quiet, Shuichi almost didn't hear it. He felt a hand across his back urging him to lay back down and the singer slowly returned his head to Yuki's chest.

The another long silence followed, this time broken by Shuichi.

"When did you finish your book, Yuki?"

The author paused before answering, "Awhile ago."

"What have you been doing in there then?" Shuichi asked quietly.

"Writing."

The singer nodded against his chest. He had a feeling he knew what Yuki had been writing about, given the way he was acting.

"Don't listen to me again." Yuki said softly. "If it's taking that long for me to come out, drag me out. I'm too old for this shit."

Shuichi smiled. "Okay, Yuki."

"And no more sleeping on the couch, got it? Especially if you're sick." the author huffed before yawning.

Shuichi turned his head and coughed for a few moments, before wearily laying his head back down.

"Okay, Yuki." he said sleepily. "From now on, this is where I sleep."

He felt his lover 'hmmph' and smiled again.

"Goodnight, Yuki."

A long pause followed and Shuichi closed his eyes, believing the writer to already be asleep.

"Get me sick and you die."

Shuichi's smile widened. "I love you too, Yuki."


	2. Homecoming

**Interlude**

_Track 2: Homecoming_

Yuki was sitting at his computer, typing away on his latest novel and generally not paying much attention to his surroundings. When Shuichi arrived home, the pop singer would announce it loud enough for half the building to hear, so he had no idea that said singer was actually standing behind him at that moment. Shuichi remained quiet, thinking long and hard about what he was about to do. He'd been thinking about this all day, but now that he was actually here he could feel his resolve beginning to wain. The pink-haired man was lifted from his thoughts when Yuki made a huffing noise and then violently stamped his cigarette out in the ashtray by his keyboard. Sensing his moment, Shuichi steeled himself and walked forward.

For a moment, Yuki was at a loss as to what to do. Without a single sound, his chair had been rolled back and turned around. Before he could even think about it, Shuichi had planted himself into the novelist's lap. Yuki stared at the singer for a moment before Shuichi leaned forward and melded their lips together. Yuki felt his arms slowly move up and around Shuichi's body, pulling the smaller man closer and deepening the kiss. He felt the singer's hands move; one up and behind his head to lightly grip his hair while the other clutched at his dress shirt. Yuki felt the warm transferring from his lover's lips to his own, a slightly tingling sensation following behind the welcomed heat and leaving him wanting much, much more.

After several moments, Yuki felt Shuichi's grip loosen. The pink-haired singer pulled back slowly, opening his violet eyes to meet Yuki's wondering gaze. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Shuichi smiled softly and whispered:

"I'm home."

A new tradition had just been formed.


	3. Distractions

**Interlude**

_Track 3: Distractions_

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Looking up from his notebook, Shuichi raised an eyebrow at his now angry lover. Yuki sighed harshly as he planted his elbow on the computer desk and buried his hand in his hair. A few moments of tense silence followed before Shuichi couldn't take it anymore.

"What's the matter Yuki?"

"I can't figure out how to end this damn thing." the novelist muttered. "And it's due tomorrow."

"Ask for an extension. You've done that before." the singer suggested.

"I've already asked for two, remember? **Someone** erased the first six chapters. And then **someone** begged me to go on a mini-tour of Japan and made me forget my laptop." Yuki growled out.

Shuichi rolled his eyes. "Well _someone_ is being an ass. I already apologized. Multiple times."

The blonde sighed and leaned back in his chair, grabbing his pack of cigarettes and pulling one out.

"I know, I know. I had an ending all planned out, but somewhere during the last chapter I thought up a new twist and now that ending doesn't work anymore and-"

Shuichi grinned as he listened. He loved it when Yuki started babbling like this.

"Have you ever had a UFO, Yuki?" the singer said suddenly.

Yuki turned slowly in his chair with a confused look on his stared at the pink J-pop singer for a few minutes before he asked,

"What?"

"A UFO." Shuichi repeated. Getting nothing but another odd look, the singer continued. "It's a kind of ice cream bar thing."

Yuki wasn't sure what to think of this bit of information. "An ice cream bar thing."

Shuichi grinned and nodded. "Uh-huh. It's really good! It has two graham cracker cookies with a huge thing of vanilla ice cream in the middle and is covered with chocolate! We should go get one sometime!"

"That has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever been interrupted-"

The novelist froze for a few moments, completely lost in thought. Slowly, a smile began to form and before Shuichi knew it, he was staring at Yuki's back and listening to the writer once again typing at a furious pace. Smiling to himself, Shuichi picked up his pen and went back to the lyrics he'd been working on.

Distractions are a wondrous thing.

A/N: And so are UFOs. So delicious!


	4. Dandelions and Rainbows

**Interlude**_  
Track 4: Dandelions and Rainbows_

Pain.

It was all his mind was currently processing as he held onto his throbbing ankle. Shuichi bit his bottom lip, trying to keep the tears in his eyes from falling.

'How in the Hell am I going to get home now?' he thought grimly. 'I don't have my cell phone on me and it's still a couple of blocks to the apartment and there's no one I know nearby and –'

"What are you doing sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, chimp?"

Craning his neck, Shuichi slowly tilted his head back until he could see…

"Yuki!" the singer cried happily. "I'm so glad to see you Yuki!"

"Again I ask – what are you doing sitting in the middle of the sidewalk?"

"Chimp." Shuichi said.

Yuki said at the teen. "What?"

"You said you were asking again. The first time you called me a chimp."

The novelist sighed and rubbed his temples. "Just answer the question freak."

Shuichi pouted. "I hurt my ankle! I can't walk home Yuki."

Walking around and squatting beside his lover Yuki carefully removed Shuichi's shoe, frowning at the immediate cringe this caused, and examined the appendage. All the while Shuichi stared at his boyfriend with the dreamy thought that Yuki might even carry him home like a bride.

He couldn't stop the content little sigh that thought invoked.

Looking up and seeing the daydreaming expression on the singer's face, Yuki could easily figure out what Shuichi was thinking.

'Like Hell I will.' He thought.

Releasing the younger man's leg, Yuki stood up and gave the teen his best glare.

"You'll live." He stated flatly.

Shuichi watched Yuki get up, turn, and start walking back towards the apartment. It took a few seconds to process this bit of information; but when he did all Shuichi could see was red.

"You asshole!" he screamed. "You're just going to leave me in the middle of the sidewalk like this!?"

The novelist stopped and turned his head, glaring at Shuichi from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah. Deal."

The singer's mouth dropped open as Yuki once again started walking. Shuichi stared at his lover's retreating form until the man had disappeared from view.

"Fine, you bastard!" he suddenly cried out. "Don't help me! I'll get home myself!"

Shuichi didn't notice several people quickly sidestepping him and giving curious looks to his sudden outburst to the air. It was several minutes of keeping his arms crossed and holding back tears before Shuichi finally decided to give walking a try.

'Stupid unhelpful people.' He thought, glaring at anyone close by. 'Leave a poor innocent kid sitting on the sidewalk all broken and bruised and…'

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Several things happened in rapid succession: Shuichi's bad ankle touched down, pain shot up his leg, all hope of remaining upright vanish and the singer's butt dropped to the ground like two magnets coming together. This process repeated itself several more times before Shuichi finally managed to stand, on one leg, and start hopping home.

'This,' he decided after a few painful hops, 'is going to take awhile.'

Twenty minutes later (of what should have been a two minute walk), Shuichi was propped against the elevator of the apartment building waiting to reach his floor. Sweat was rolling down his body in waves; his hair was plastered to his head and the singer was aching all over. His jeans were ripped from several meet-and-greet sessions with the sidewalk, and Shuichi's ankle was now practically screaming in pain. When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Shuichi groaned aloud before beginning the long hop down the hallway. After getting inside the apartment, Shuichi slowly slid down the wall and rested for a moment before getting his shoes off.

Which is when he realized he was still only wearing one shoe.

'Shit!' he thought, slapping his hand to his face. 'I didn't pick my shoe up when Yuki took it off.'

Sighing in annoyance the teen pulled his other shoe off, dropped it with the others, and began scooting himself across the floor. There was no way in hell he was standing up to hop anymore today. It took several minutes, but Shuichi did manage to make it to the couch. After hauling himself up, the singer piled a few pillows up and gently lowered his swollen ankle onto the pile. He'd been lying there with his eyes closed about ten minutes when Shuichi heard Yuki walk into the room.

"Finally home, hm?"

Shuichi resisted the urge to snort. "Fuck you, Yuki. Go away."

There were a few moments of silence before Shuichi heard the blond walk away again. He couldn't suppress a sad sigh. He hated fighting – really fighting – with Yuki.

But sometimes the man just really pissed him off.

Shuichi sighed as he flipped through channel after channel and still finding nothing worth watching. Hitting the off switch, the singer tossed the remote onto the coffee table and closed his eyes. Despite how utterly exhausted he'd been, Shuichi had been in way too much pain to sleep when he got home. His boredom eventually led to calling Hiro, which led to explaining what happened. That, in turn, had led to the guitarist coming over.

And that had ended up in a trip to the Emergency Room. Shuichi was more than happy to hear that his ankle wasn't broken. It was, however, severely twisted and he wouldn't be allowed to walk without crutches for about a week or two. K had, very begrudgingly, given the singer the next two days off to recover slightly before returning to work.

So here he was on the couch, his bandaged foot propped up on several pillows on the coffee table, and bored out of his mind. Although if he wanted entertainment, all he really had to do was remember Hiro's screaming match with Yuki when they had returned from the ER. It had gotten his friend kicked out of the apartment in the end, but Shuichi hadn't missed the look of guilt on Yuki's face before the writer had disappeared into his study again.

Shuichi's thoughts were interrupted when the couch dipped suddenly, causing his body to shift to the left. He didn't bother opening his eyes. He knew it was Yuki. A tiny click was followed by the smell of smoke and Shuichi scrunched up his nose in response.

"So, how bad is it?" the author finally asked.

"Just twisted."

"What's with the sticks then?"

"Really twisted." Shuichi replied. "Did you have to leave me there?"

"Did you have to have that goofy ass look on your face?"

Shuichi snorted and opened his eyes. "Was it worth it?"

Yuki stared at his lover for a moment. "Was what worth it?" he finally asked.

"You ditched me, made me feel like nothing, made me go through a shit load of pain for the sake of your pride, and don't even seem to give a damn about it now. So, was it worth it?"

"No."

"How could you – What?"

Yuki looked away, becoming very interested in his cigarette. "I said no. It wasn't worth it. And I shouldn't have done it."

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "Was that…an apology Yuki?"

"What'd you think, chimp?"

The singer grinned. "I knew you loved me, Yuki!" he cried, throwing his arms around the blond man.

"Hey, hey! Don't get any ideas you freak! Gah! Get off me!"

"Nope! Never letting go!" Shuichi cried out, his voice muffled by Yuki's chest.

The writer finally sighed and relaxed, letting his arm come to rest on the singer's back.

"Alright." He said flatly. "Whatever."

The both knew it was only a matter of time before something similar would happen and the past few hours would repeat themselves. But right now that just didn't seem to matter. After all, it can't all be dandelions and rainbows now, can it?


	5. Haircuts

**Interlude**

_Track 5: Haircuts_

"You need a haircut."

Shuichi turned slightly in his seat and stared at Yuki for a moment.

"What?"

"You heard me." The author said, never taking his eyes off the road in front of him.

Shuichi scoffed. "If I need a haircut, then so do you. Yours is just as long as mine. Probably longer!"

"That may be, but my hair has style. Yours is just a rat's nest of tangles."

"It is not!" the singer cried out, running his hands through his hair. "If your hair's so stylish, why do you have to keep getting it out of your face?"

"I do not." Yuki replied.

It was about that moment that a large section of Yuki's hair dropped into his view. Before he could bring his hand up to brush it away, the car suddenly lurched and came to a dead stop. This very effectively removed the hair and Yuki was left staring at the dented-in back of the car in front of him.

"Really?" Shuichi suddenly piped in, a smirk crossing his face. "The cop you just rear-ended will probably think differently."

"Shut up."

By the time they were back on the road again, Yuki was barely controlling himself. It didn't take long before Shuichi noticed they weren't heading to the restaurant anymore.

"Yuki, where are we going?"

"To get your hair cut." He said, glancing at his lover before returning his eyes to the road.

"And mine."


	6. A Death in the Family

**Interlude**

_Track 6: A Death in the Family_

The soft chime of the doorbell drifted through the house and a blond blur raced down the hallway. Throwing the door open, a wide-eyed and panting Yuki stared at the calm and expressionless face of his brother-in-law.

"Well?"

"Eiri-"

"Tell me Tohma. You have to tell me now. Did he…did he make it?"

The keyboardist sighed softly, his eyes glancing downward for a second before lifting up to stare into Yuki's. That look was all the novelist needed.

"Oh, God no." Yuki choked out, his hand coming up to cover his open mouth.

"I'm sorry, Eiri. They did all they could for him."

Tohma's brows furrowed together as he watched his normally stoic brother-in-law sink to the floor in despair. Dropping to his knees in front of Yuki, Tohma tried to comfort the man.

"It's not like you can't get anoth-"

"Don't you ever say that!" Yuki barked. "He was special. God I never – there's so much I never did."

Tohma continued to try and comfort the grieving writer until the sharp tap of bare feet gave him pause to look up.

"It's just a laptop, Yuki." Shuichi said, rolling his eyes at his lover's antics. "Deal."

"Just a laptop? Just a laptop?!"

Tohma sighed again and stood up. He didn't have time for his brother-in-law's insanity right now. Replacing his hat, Tohma strolled out the door and down the hallway, all the while tuning out the couple's bickering. Shuichi could handle this one.

After all, he was the one who broke it.


End file.
